E3 2017 to be open to the general public, tickets to go on sale next week
Up until now, E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) was only open the media, and members of the industry (analysts, retailers, developers, publishers, etc.), but not the general public. The ESA tried to create a side-event last year (E3 Live), open to the public, but it wasn’t really successful (despite them claiming it was).
And earlier this week, the ESA announced they were going several steps further this year, and that E3 would be open to the general public. But unlike those for media, the passes will not be free: they will cost $250 (with a $100 early bird discount), with 15 000 of them to be sold from February 13th.
The tickets will provide access to the show floor, panel discussions, and other events (though press conferences from publishers will most definitely stay invite-only events). The ESA also partnered with Geoff Keighley to provide attendees with “access to special benefits associated with Keighley’s own E3 programming, such as developer interviews and more”.
There will also be business passes (most definitely more expensive than those for the general public), that will provide access to a business lounge and preferred entry to the convention center, and more. This specific type of pass is aimed at lawyers, analysts, executives, and advertisers.
Many people have said E3 has been losing relevance in the digital age, and in fact, quite a few notable publishers completely skipped the event (generally to have their own events), such as Electronic Arts. Opening the show to the general public seems to be the ESA’s answer to that. Will it be a success? It’s obviously way too early to tell for sure.
As to whether E3 2018 will also be open to the general public, it will most definitely depend on whether E3 2017 is a success or not. It’s not the first time the ESA has been experimenting with the formula, though the last time they did (in 2007 and 2008), it didn’t really go pretty well.
E3 2017 will take place from June 13th to June 15th.
Source: GameSpot
